


Not How I'd Imagined

by WynterRobin



Series: Soulmate AU [1]
Category: Batman (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, F/M, Fluff, Soulmates, Tim Drake is Red Robin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-09 09:06:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WynterRobin/pseuds/WynterRobin
Summary: “Ohmygosh,” you mumbled to yourself, realizing belatedly that you were shaking. You took a step towards the slumped man, hoping to help him. He groaned, dragging himself up into a sitting position, clutching at his side. He held a hand out towards you, not looking, warning you to keep your distance. “I’m okay, really, I’m fine,” he gritted out, and your heart stopped. It couldn’t be, could it? No, surely not, you were going to meet your soulmate at work, this couldn’t be.. He carried on, oblivious to your turmoil, muttering to himself as he leaned back against the brick wall he had just been smashed into. “Could really use a coffee right now though,” You stared at him for a second, stunned.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt on tumblr: A soulmate AU with Tim Drake. Follow me on tumblr here! https://wynterrobin.tumblr.com/

You closed the last of the window blinds with a relieved sigh, glad your long day at the coffeeshop was finally coming to an end. You were only meant to be working for a couple hours this morning, but when the girl scheduled to work after you called in sick you had offered to cover her shift. You didn’t really mind, you liked your boss and you could use the extra cash besides. Although working such long hours on top of being a full time college student was pretty exhausting. Service had stopped almost an hour ago, the other workers had stayed to clean up but you were locking up on your own. You were proud of your bosses trust in you, even if it meant it was almost eleven by the time you were ready to leave.  
You snagged your coat from the hook by the door, casting a fond glance at the words on your wrist before shrugging it on. Your soulmates words. The first words they would ever speak to you. ‘I’m okay, really, I’m fine. Could really use a coffee right now though,’ Initially when they appeared on your thirteenth birthday you had been perplexed, and a little disappointed. The words were so obscure. But over time that had changed to intrigue and fond affection. You were glad that at least your words would be obvious, you hadn’t been cursed with something trivial like ‘Excuse me’ or ‘Hey’ as some of your friends had been. Plus, it gave you something to look forward to while you worked. The fact that your soulmate had mentioned coffee had been the main reason for your choice of jobs in the first place. You imagined maybe he would come up to the counter to order, and his words were an answer to something you’d said. You’d worked in a couple of different places by now, but since you’d moved for college this was your first job in Gotham.  
You slipped out the front door and shut it behind you with a quiet click, locking the padlock before tucking the key safely into your pocket. Thankfully your apartment was only a block away from here, having to walk too far in Gotham at night made you skittish. If you hadn’t lived in Bludhaven before coming here you doubted you would have the nerve to make the walk at all. Living in a city like that built up your tolerance for dangerous situations. You ducked your head and shoved your hands into your pockets, setting a quick pace. It was a cold night, and your breath appeared as little puffs of fog in the darkness. You always made sure to stay alert when on your way home, but the sudden cacophony of sirens blaring just around the corner still made you startle. You took an instinctive step back, uncertain, and just then a darkly clad figure darted out of the alleyway just meters in front of you. Your breathing hitched in your throat, but thankfully he took no notice of you and continued running down the street. A moment later three police cars whizzed past you, sirens blaring. You were standing frozen in shock, and you noticed with dismay that they had taken the wrong turn; the man’s black outfit had camouflaged him in the shadows. Your heart was pounding with fear; you didn’t know whether you should run the other way or not. It was in the wrong direction to your apartment building, but it didn’t seem like a great idea to follow the guy. It was then that something amazing happened. A black and blue blur shot out from behind a building, colliding straight into the criminal’s back. You heard him swearing as he hit the ground, and the next minute another man was swinging in from above, red and black this time. ‘Nightwing and Red Robin,’ you realized, distinguishing the vigilantes outfits.

‘Holy crap,’ Like most citizens of Gotham, you were a huge fan of the city’s masked heroes. Even growing up in Bludhaven, you had been obsessed with stories of Batman and Robin’s exploits. If you were honest with yourself, you were probably a lot more interested than most normal people were. You knew all of the stories, you knew which Robin had become which vigilante and what each of their signature moves and weapons were. You even had a poster on your bedroom wall. Red Robin was your favourite; you guessed he was probably the closest in age to you and he was just so cool it almost hurt. This was your first time seeing them in person though, and you were so awestruck that it took you a couple of seconds to realize that the fight was coming back towards you. The man they were chasing had managed to escape Nightwing’s grasp somehow and was now racing towards you at full speed, some kind of baton in hand. “Shit,” You swore, adrenaline pounding in your ears as you dived for the alleyway, hoping to conceal yourself behind one of the dumpsters or boxes littered there. 'He probably wants to use me as a shield’ you realized, cursing your own stupidity. You knew you were too late as the man reached out, just inches away now, fingers outstretched to grab at your jacket. You stared at him in terror, wide eyed. Suddenly he was wrenched backwards, away from you. You gave a surprised yelp as Red Robin swooped in on the man, sending him flying backwards with a kick to the chest. He was so close you could hear his gasp as the air was forced from his lungs by the impact. With dawning horror you noticed from your vantage point what Red Robin couldn’t - the man still had his batting arm raised, and at the last second he lashed out wildly with his weapon. It was a fluke shot - but it connected with Red Robin’s ribs with a crunch. The vigilante yelped as he was flung sidelong into the adjacent building. You gasped, hands flying to your mouth when he slumped in a heap on the sidewalk. The criminal was on his feet and making a break for it, Nightwing hot on his heels. “I got this Red Robin, stay down!” he yelled over his shoulder, disappearing around the corner. Leaving you alone with his injured partner.

“Ohmygosh,” you mumbled to yourself, realizing belatedly that you were shaking. You took a step towards the slumped man, hoping to help him. He groaned, dragging himself up into a sitting position, clutching at his side. He held a hand out towards you, not looking, warning you to keep your distance. “I’m okay, really, I’m fine,” he gritted out, and your heart stopped. It couldn’t be, could it? No, surely not, you were going to meet your soulmate at work, this couldn’t be.. He carried on, oblivious to your turmoil, muttering to himself as he leaned back against the brick wall he had just been smashed into. “Could really use a coffee right now though,” You stared at him for a second, stunned. Your heart couldn’t deal with this right now, you’d already just narrowly avoided death and simultaneously been terrified out of your mind. You raised a trembling hand, pointing at him accusingly. “You!” Your tone was incredulous, but didn’t quite cover up the slight waver in your voice. “All this time I’ve spent working in coffeeshops, for nothing!” Even you couldn’t believe the words coming out of your mouth. But you were so tired, emotionally and physically drained, and this! This.. this was your soulmate! 'Ohmygod.’ Something clicked in your brain. Red Robin was your soulmate! And you had just lost your temper at him, after he had been thrown into a wall protecting you. You wanted to die of shame.

His head shot up, startled. And then to your surprise, he laughed, albeit strained. “You’re not the one with a caffeine addiction,” he quipped, smiling up at you. You found yourself smiling back unwittingly. You jogged over and knelt down beside him, laying a tentative hand on his arm. “Can you walk? My apartment is just around the next corner, I could fix you up there while you wait for Nightwing to come back.” You looked up at his face and found him still smiling widely at you. Suddenly shy, you looked away, blushing. “I mean, if you’d like, that is..” You stuttered. You felt his other hand come up to yours, squeezing gently. “I’d love to,” He reassured, and you could hear the smile in his voice. You felt suddenly giddy. It took you a couple minutes to maneuver him up and onto his feet, and even then he kept his arm slung over your shoulder while you gripped his other elbow to support him. You could see it hurt him to move, he winced at every little jolt even though he didn’t complain once. The walk back to your apartment was slow, and Red Robin needed to lean on you heavily. You realized on the way that you hadn’t even told him your name, so you did. He seemed to realize then too, and laughed, seemingly at the absurdity of the whole situation. “Tim,” he replied, still chucking. You grinned. “Tim,” You repeated to yourself, and the shape of the word felt right in your mouth. Then you remembered something. “Coffee addiction?” You raised an eyebrow at him. He shrugged sheepishly. “I used to spend a lot of time in coffeeshops, figured I might bump into you.” He sounded embarrassed, and you giggled. “Makes sense that you wouldn’t have, I just moved here from Bludhaven.” He let out a slow breath. “Well shit. All that wasted time,” You nodded in agreement. You’d reached the door of your building and you guided him into the lobby. “But no more,” You promised, both to Tim and to yourself. “No more,” He repeated, and the seriousness in his tone and the way he looked at you let you know that he meant it.


	2. Chapter 2

Thankfully the elevator in the lobby was working for once, so you didn’t have to worry about dragging Tim up five flights of stairs. Every time you thought his real name the unlikelihood of the situation hit you again; the fangirl inside of you was squealing right now. The receptionist barely spared you a glance as you shuffled past; living in this neighbourhood it probably wasn’t the strangest thing she’d seen tonight. She was most likely just glad that you were quiet and keeping to yourselves. In the elevator Tim slumped up against the metal wall. You noticed with mild alarm that his breathing was starting to sound laboured. A quick glance up at his face confirmed this; his jaw was set in a grimace of pain, although you could tell that he was trying not to let it show. When he caught you looking his lips quirked up in a slight smile. Despite yourself you blushed, quickly averting your eyes to the floor. You weren’t sure where this sudden shyness had come from; you’d been yelling at him less than an hour ago. Thankfully the elevator ‘pinged’ then and the doors slid open, sparing you from your embarrassment.   
You guided Tim down the hallway to your door, fumbling for a second to get your key out and unlock it with one arm wrapped around Tim to keep him upright. Once you were in you flipped on the lightswitch and swept your eyes over the kitchen. Luckily it seemed that your roomate hadn’t come home today, as the room seemed to be pretty much as you’d left it. You didn’t dislike the other girl; as roomates went you could have done a lot worse, and you coexisted in relative ease. It helped that she was rarely home, she was the kind of person who was always invited to something or other, and never turned down an opportunity to go out. You were just glad she never decided to bring the party home with her. It was particularly fortunate tonight as you didn’t have to make up an excuse for bringing Red Robin into your apartment.   
It was a relief to finally get Tim onto the sofa. He slumped into the seat with a quiet groan, hand going instinctively to his ribs. You winced sympathetically. “Hang on, I’ll go grab the first aid kit,” He nodded, and you could feel his eyes on you as you went to rummage around in the cupboard under the sink. It took a couple minutes to locate it as you hadn’t had cause to use it since you’d moved in. On the upside that also meant that it was fully stocked. You were so glad your parents had persuaded you to take a first aid course last year, otherwise you’d have no idea how to help him. As it was you were still a little nervous as you knelt down by his knees, placing the first aid to kit on the floor and flipping open the lid. Tim didn’t bother questioning whether or not you knew what you were doing; you could hear the rustle of material as he struggled to free himself from the confines of his tunic. “Will Nightwing be able to find you here?” You asked partially to distract him from the pain, but mostly because you were curious. You had always wondered how they managed to show up just at the right time to help each other out, you figured they probably had some way of communicating that the public wasn’t aware of. Your suspicions were confirmed when he answered. “Yeah, there’s a tracker in my earpiece. He’ll come pick me up when he’s done, I hope,” “You hope?” You pulled out an elastic ace bandage with a triumphant “Ah-ha!” Tim laughed wryly. “Well, out of the three of my brothers he’s the most likely to try. But I like to think that nothing’s guaranteed in our line of work,”   
That comment threw you. “Wait, your brothers?” You looked up at him in puzzlement, and gasped. While you’d been rummaging around for supplies Tim had taken off his mask, revealing the most beautiful blue eyes you’d ever seen. But that wasn’t what had shocked you. You recognised that face. It was printed on every business and social magazine in Gotham at least once a month. “You’re Tim Drake!” It was more of an accusation than a statement. He just gave you a tiny nervous grin, and you suddenly felt a little dizzy. “Ohmygod. What is even happening,” You shook your head to clear it. “Wow. So does that mean the others…?” Tim nodded. “Yep. Nightwing is Dick, Red Hood is Jason, and Robin is Damian. And Batman is Bruce, obviously.” He paused, “I probably should have double checked it was okay to tell you that, but oh well,” he shrugged, then winced. It reminded you suddenly of what you were meant to be doing, as opposed to sitting there and gaping at him like an idiot.   
Tim had already freed himself from the top half of his suit, so you had a clear view of his injuries. There were a few minor cuts and bruises, but his ribs were by far the worst. They were already swollen and purple looking, backing up your theory that they were probably fractured. “Do you think you can sit forward a little?” Tim complied, wincing when you started to wrap the bandage around his torso. You tried hard to focus on the task at hand, and not on the fact that you were currently about three inches away from Red Robin’s chest. You hoped he didn’t notice the slight shaking of your hands. When you were done you handed him the ice pack you had grabbed from the fridge on your way back, along with a couple of pain-relief tablets. “Thanks,” he mumbled, swallowing the pills dry and then holding the icepack gingerly to his ribcage. You nodded, proceeding to grab the antiseptic to treat the rest of his injuries.   
Despite the distraction your mind was racing. “I still can’t believe it… I mean, wow,” You didn’t know if you were talking to him or yourself. “Probably a lot more than you bargained for right?” Tim sounded apologetic and you rushed to correct him. “No! I mean, I love you guys!” Your cheeks lit up. “I mean, um. The work you do, and stuff, I’m a big fan,” You felt like such an idiot. He laughed warmly, dropping his head back on the sofa cushions and smiling at you. You realized belatedly that he must be exhausted. “Good, cause you’re gonna need to if you’re going to put up with us… if you want to that is,” Tentatively you reached out and took his hand where it rested on the cushions. “I want to,” you promised. He squeezed your hand, letting his eyes fall closed contentedly. His expression was almost peaceful now, you guessed that the medicine was starting to kick in. You made to pull away so you could finish putting your stuff away and grab him a blanket, but were cut short when he whined in complaint, tightening his hold on your hand. You looked back to find him giving giving you puppy dog eyes; making it virtually impossible to say no to him. You giggled. “Just let me go get a blanket, I’ll be back in two seconds,” He released you reluctantly and you hurried to the linen closet, anxious to keep your promise. You still couldn’t believe that this was happening to you, it was like something out of a dream.   
When you returned Tim was already half asleep. You took the icepack from him gently, settling in beside him and draping the blanket over the both of you. Normally you would never be this comfortable with someone you had just met, but with Tim it just felt different. Maybe it was because he was your soulmate (your stomach did a little flip at the idea), or maybe it was just because he had been leaning on you for the journey here anyway, you weren’t sure. Whatever the reason, it felt completely natural to have Tim reach for your hand under the blankets and lean in to rest his head on your shoulder. That was how Dick found you when he climbed through your window later that night, both of you fast asleep together on the sofa, the lights still on. Needless to say he was more than a little confused. Tim had a lot of explaining to do


End file.
